High Sea Ride
by Madkatt
Summary: When in a bid to escape from her father, Max stows away on a ship, she didn't realise she had chosen a pirate ship, let alone that of the notorious pirate Fang Reaver and his crew.  Now Max faces a whole different set of problems.  AU AH, Fax :
1. Runaway

**Hi, So, although I've been reading Fanfic for quite a while I've never had a go at writing any. But this plot has been bugging me for a while so I thought I'd give it a go. Anyway, bare with me whilst I get my head around how all this works. And I'll apologise in advance if this is similar to anything previously written. I also apologise for the fact I haven't read any of the books for a while so characters may be a little out of character. **

**Disclaimer: Characters belong to JP.**

**On with the story :)**

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><p>I swore softly, glancing behind me as I darted down yet another alley way.<p>

Nope, those idiots were still behind me.

Now, I bet you're wondering who I am and who exactly I am running from?

Well, to answer your first question my name is Max, or Maximum Ride, to give me my full name. And before you ask, I am female, despite how I often act and dress.

I'm 17 years old with shoulder length brown hair streaked with blonde, naturally I might add, and brown eyes, the colour of chocolate, milk not dark.

The idiots I'm currently running from work for my so called father. And the reason I was running from them? They wanted to take me home, and that was somewhere I never wanted to see again.

I hated my father, he wasn't even biologically my dad. My real dad had died when I was eight and my mother remarried. Her new husband was rich, a noble supposedly, though I've never seen anything noble about him.

But because he is rich and a noble he thinks he can control everything, including me. That belief grew when my mother died from a 'tragic accident' two years after marrying the bastard.

He made my life miserable and now, to top it all off he wants me to get married. Yep, married. To one of his rich friends that's old enough to be my father, maybe even my grandfather.

And why does he want me to marry this old man? So he can become richer, that's why. He's using me as part of a business deal and that was the final straw.

So I brought forward my plans to run away. I had been planning to run once I had turned 18, but I found out that my 'father' wanted me to marry the day of my 18th birthday. That was in two days. Hence why I was now running through the streets trying to lose the two idiots who were hot on my trail.

So, back to running.

I weaved through the dark, quiet streets. I knew exactly where I was going, but I needed to put a little more distance between me and my pursuers first.

I knew these streets reasonably well, the men behind me it seemed, didn't.

I darted down another alley way which I knew led to a dead end. No, I'm not stupid. This alley ended in a brick wall, a wall I could climb over with some ease. Behind me I heard the footsteps of the men slow as they realised that the alley led nowhere. Their mistake.

I sped up my running and ran straight at the wall, using my momentum to scramble halfway up and grab the top. I hefted myself up as I heard the footsteps speed back up as they realised I was getting away.

I glanced over at them and gave them a cocky wave before letting myself drop down on the other side and took off at a run. By the time even one of them made it over the wall I was long gone.

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><p>I strode through the dark streets humming to myself. The trick in this town is to look confident. I was heading for the docks where I planned to board a ship to take me as far away from this blasted town as possible.<p>

Now most people tended to try and avoid being out after dark in this town, because after dark is when all the thugs and creeps come out. Our town seems to be particularly rife with them. I'm pretty sure most of them work for my father.

I stood in the shadows, my eyes running over the ships that were at the port. There were five ships there in total. Two of them I knew belonged to my father, one of them belonged to the guy I was supposed to marry. So that left me with a choice of two. Both were at the furthest end of the dock.

I walked towards them slowly, neither ship was flying a flag so I had no idea what kind of ships they were.

Then I heard voices, voices I recognised belonging to the two men who had been chasing me earlier. Damn! I had hoped they had given up.

I jogged quickly towards the two ships, just to see that one of them had a sleepy looking guard at the top of the gang plank. They were dressed in a uniform I recognised to belong to the royal guards. Which most likely meant that it was a treasurery ship. So that knocked that ship out of the running. As I jogged to the gang plank of the final ship I was praying for four things.

One: That this ship didn't have a guard

Two: That the men looking for me wouldn't see me slip aboard

Three: That there would be somewhere I could hide

And finally, Four: That the ship was due to sail out soon.

My first prayer was answered. There was no guard aboard the ship so I ran up the gang plank and threw myself flat. I could still hear the men's voices moving closer. I reiterated my second prayer, my fingers closing round my necklace in an unconscious gesture.

I could hear them talking clearly now "She's not here. I told you that guy was too drunk to know what you were talking about"

"He seemed pretty sure; you don't think she's aboard a ship do you…"

"No, there all guarded. He was drunk; he probably saw a worker or something. Come on, lets not waste any more time here. You know what will happen if we don't find her…" Their voices trailed off as they moved away. I let out the breath I hadn't realised I had been holding and peeked out to see the two men moving away down the dock.

They obviously hadn't come up far enough to see that this ship wasn't guarded. Told you they were idiots.

I waited till they were out of sight before moving. I needed somewhere aboard the ship to hide. I went with the classic. The ship had a small boat to one side of the deck; it was probably used as a landing boat, or maybe a life boat.

It was covered by a blue tarpaulin and I figured it would be as good a place to stow away as any. I'd slip off the ship at the next port. I shrugged off my small back pack and lifting the edge of the tarpaulin I pushed it in to the boat.

I jumped a mile when the boat said ouch!

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><p><strong>So there we go, my first Chapter of fanfic. Let me know what you think and whether I should continue. Also if there's anything that could do with improving :)<strong>

**Oh, and if anyone can come up with a better title I won't object :)**


	2. Our secret

**Wow! Thanks guys! I kind of freaked out with the amount of reviews and story alerts I got. I even got a couple of favourites, after only one chapter! So it kind of spurred me on to get this chapter up a bit quicker than I planned. I just hope that this story lives up to everyones expectations. Again, if you spot anything that could do with improving, let me know. **

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately Max and the gang aren't mine, the plot however is :)**

**On with the story :)**

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><p>I stared at the boat in shock, trying to control my breathing and slow my speeding heart down. Inanimate objects are not meant to go ouch.<p>

Slowly I reached forward and lifted the edge of the tarpaulin to find two pairs of eyes staring at me. One of the pairs was bright blue. They belonged to a little girl of about six, with curly blonde hair and a sweet look on her face. The second pair was brown and belonged to a little brown Scottie dog.

"Hi!" the girl said cheerfully.

"Um… Hi?" I said, it sounding more like a question than anything else. The little girl grinned at me then scrambled out of the boat, the dog following.

"Why did you put your bag in the boat?" she asked, then her eyes widened "Are you planning to stowaway?"

"Err…" I wasn't quite sure what to say to her. I had been planning to stowaway but now I had been discovered…

I frowned and decided to answer her question with one of my own

"What were you doing in the boat?"

The little girls' forehead crinkled in a frown. It made her look really cute.

"I was playing a game." She started to giggle "My brother thinks I'm fast asleep."

"Your brother? Won't he be worried when he realises you've snuck out and wandered on to a ship?"

The little girl giggled again "No silly, my brother owns this ship. As long as I stay on board he won't get too mad."

Shoot, well that definitely means I have to go.

"Well, it was nice meeting you err…"

"Angel" The girl filled in for me with a big grin. Huh, I couldn't help thinking that the name definitely suited her looks. "And this is Total" she finished, waving her hand at the brown dog that sat by her side.

I smiled "Well it was nice meeting you Angel and Total, but I think I probably should be going…"

"Oh." Angel looked disappointed "Are you sure you can't stay? I promise I won't tell anyone you're here." I reached in to the boat for my bag

"Sorry kiddo, I pretty sure your brother wouldn't want a stowaway." I turned back to her to discover that she was looking at me with her baby blue eyes wide and pleading

"Pleeeease." She begged. I hesitated, and she must have seen a moment of weakness pass across my face because, if possible, her eyes got even wider and her bottom lip jutted out in a pout. Even the damn dog was giving me a pleading look.

"I promise I won't tell! And I'll bring you food and water…" I tuned out her rambling for a few moments, weighing up my options. If I stowed away aboard this ship I would have someone who already knew I was here, which increased my chances of getting caught. On the bright side she would keep me fed.

On the other hand if I didn't stowaway, I would have to stay in town until another possible ship came in. And if I stayed in town I would be found and taken home. That would be very bad.

My life is never easy.

I sighed and Angel took it as a sign of defeat, which, in a way, it was. I didn't have much choice really. I had to leave town.

"Yay!" she cheered, clapping her hands together and jumping up and down excitedly.

"Shush, Angel…" I hissed, afraid the amount of noise she was making would attract attention. She stopped jumping and looked at me, a massive smile on her face.

"I didn't say yes yet." I said and immediately felt bad when her face fell.

I sighed again "Do you know where you're headed next?" I asked.

She shrugged "Port Ayres I think."

I bit my lip, Port Ayres was three or four days sail away. It was a big port, with plenty of ships coming and going and somewhere I would have a high chance of finding work.

"And when do you leave here?" I asked

"On the morning tide." Was the reply

I nodded slowly then crouched down in front of Angel, looking her directly in the eye.

"Ok Angel, I'll trust you and stay on board. But only till we get to Port Ayres. After that I'll have to go, ok."

She beamed at me then threw her arms around my neck. I patted her back awkwardly as I tried to keep my balance.

"Remember, I'm trusting you Angel. If I get discovered, well it wouldn't be good."

She pulled back from me "I understand. It'll be our secret, I'm very good at keeping secrets." She had such a serious look on her face that I almost burst out laughing.

I stood again and patted her blonde curls before shoving my bag back in to the boat.

"Well I'm going to hide now Angel. You probably should get back to bed before you're missed."

She nodded and watched me as I scrambled in to the covered boat. I gave her a small smile and a wave before pulling the edge of the tarpaulin down so there was no gap.

I curled up on my side and stuck my bag under my head as a pillow.

I had just closed my eyes when I felt someone prod me. I snapped my eyes back open with a yelp to meet those baby blue ones once more.

"I thought I told you to go to bed?" I growled softly

"Sorry," Angel giggled "But I wanted to know your name"

Oh, I didn't tell her? "It's Max." I said narrowing my eyes at her "Now go to bed!"

"Ok, night Max" she giggled again and then she was gone. As I tracked the sound of her footsteps fading across the deck I couldn't help but think

_What have I got myself in to?_

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><p><strong>So thats chapter two. Now who guessed Angel was the one in the boat?<strong>

**Fang should be in the next chapter, might even be his POV, haven't decided yet.**

**Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, it really boosted my confidence. Still can't quite believe the amount of reviews the first chapter got.**

**I'll update again as soon as I can :)**


	3. A change of course

**I'm procrastinating. I'm supposed to be writing my NaNoWriMo novel as I'm behind, but it's not going very well. So I thought I'd write another chapter for you guys instead. So, this chapter is in Fangs POV as promised. I had a bit of difficulty with this chapter and I'm still not sure it's quite right. However, it is a bit longer than my previous chapters.**

**On another note thank you so much for all the reviews. I'm glad people like the story.**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own the flock and co, just the plot :)**

**On with the story :)**

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><p><strong>FPOV<strong>

I stood at the bow of my ship, staring out towards the open sea and enjoying the feel of the sea breeze against my face.

Behind me I could hear the sounds of the crew going about their duties and the reassuring creak of the sails that meant they were catching plenty of wind.

"The course is set for Port Ayres, Captain. If the wind stays with us then we should reach the port in three days." The voice of my first mate came from behind me, disturbing my peaceful thoughts.

I grunted in acknowledgement, hoping he would take the hint and go away.

He didn't.

Instead, he took another step forward and leant on the ships railings beside me.

"Did you hear the rumours in the last port?" He asked, his voice low so as not to carry to the rest of the crew.

"I heard" I muttered, continuing to stare out over the water.

"But you still plan to sail to Ayres?"

I remained silent.

"Fang?"

"I finally sighed and turned my full attention to my first mate and best friend, Jeffery Chance, otherwise known as Iggy. We had a long history together and he was one of the few people I trusted completely.

Sensing my movement he turned his sightless eyes towards me and grinned

"Well?" he asked again

"No."

He sighed, "Such an interesting answer Fang, so deep, you always were brilliant at making conversation."

I smirked as he continued to talk "So would you like me to set a new course?" he asked slowly. He sounded like he was talking to a child.

"No." I hesitated a moment, my eyes turning back towards the water "I think we'll wait till we're further out to sea before setting a new course."

"You've noticed then?"

"Yeah, I've noticed."

"So what do we do?"

I glanced at him "We hold council. War room, one hour. Tell the others."

Iggy threw me another grin, snapping his hand up in a mocking salute "Aye Aye Captain" he said cheerfully, before he turned on his heel and marched off.

I turned my gaze back to the sea, wishing the thoughts in my head were as calm as the water in front of me.

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><p>I walked in to my cabin and dropped on to my bed.<p>

My cabin was the largest room on the ship and my own private space to escape. Furniture crowded the room. I had a bed pushed against one wall, a beat up old sofa (Don't ask how we got it in here) against another and near the door sat a desk, strewn with papers and maps, and a chair.

My cabin also doubled as the war room.

A knock sounded on the door and before I could answer, it was swung open and Iggy came flouncing in, three other people behind him.

Iggy made straight for the sofa and threw himself down.

"Well, here we all are Fangy." He said cheerfully, stretching and taking up the entire sofa. I smirked as he got clipped round the ear

"Get your legs off the sofa" Ella scowled at him. Iggy hurriedly sat up. The two girls plonked themselves down on either side of him and I hid a smile as I heard him gulp.

I rubbed my forehead then sat up myself

"Ari, shut the door." I said softly. He did as asked, then moved over to lean on the desk.

"So what's up Fang? I mean, we've only just left port and you're already calling a meeting? Is it about that fight Sam and Trent got in to? Because I know they seem to get in to a lot of fights but they said that this time it really wasn't their…"

Thank you Iggy.

"Nudge! Geez," he muttered.

"Sorry." She grinned sheepishly as she pulled Iggy's hand from her mouth.

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair, my eyes examining my friends.

Ari, looking calm and composed, as always, leaning against my desk, his arms crossed, but still with that steely glint in his eyes. Extremely slow to anger but if he does, watch out.

Ella, generally the peace maker of our little group, despite the fact she had a quick temper. Dark brown hair, pretty brown eyes and a small scar across her cheek that was a constant reminder of her life before she met us. She never let it bring her down though.

Monique, who was very quickly rechristened Nudge, because that's what you needed to do to shut her up. She was the chatterbox. Born in the more tropical part of the world, she had mocha coloured skin, brown hair which, to her disgust tends to be a little wild, and brown eyes.

And sat between the two girls, of course, was Iggy. My wise cracking best friend who seemed to be extremely good at getting in to trouble. Despite being blind he always knew exactly what was going on, and was the best cook I knew. He also, unfortunately, liked to experiment with things and that often resulted in something exploding.

We had all been together for a long time and these were the people I trusted most in the world. They had known me long before I had become captain of a pirate ship.

"So what's up Fang?" Ella asked

I got straight to the point "We have traitor in our midst."

None of them looked surprised.

Ari nodded thoughtfully "I suspected something, too many coincidences."

Ella nodded in agreement, "Yeah, the law just happening to keep turning up where we are? Once or twice, maybe even three times in a row. But…" She trailed off shaking her head

"Any ideas who it might be Fang? I mean, we haven't taken any new crew aboard for almost eight months, and that was Trent, and seeing as he was Sam's brother and Sam has been with us for almost two years, and we never had any trouble before, I don't think…"

"Nudge!"

She bit her lip and gave us all an apologetic look.

"There has been one other new person aboard for the past few weeks" Iggy said hesitantly.

"This was happening before _she_ came on board." I said softly.

Ella scowled "I don't know why we even brought _her_ on board. She's a pain in the…"

We all heard the little giggle and Ella shut her mouth quickly. I raised an eyebrow at the others and got to my feet as I replied to Ella "I owed a favour. I promised to get her to Trulia. I don't break promises."

Ella sighed and I heard her mumble "we know" as I moved over to the desk. Ari stepped over to the door as I leant over the desk and looked under it, to see a pair of blue eyes looking at me.

"Angel!" I frowned at her and she just giggled again, tilting her head to look at me. I was looking at her upside down and unfortunately I didn't see Total until it was too late.

I pulled back hurriedly as he licked my face.

"Yuck" I scowled, standing up and wiping an arm across my face, getting rid of the doggie saliva.

"Angel" I growled her name as she crawled out from under the desk "What have I told you about eavesdropping?"

She bit her lip and looked at the floor, her hands clasped behind her back, a teddy bear held firmly in their grip. Total sat next to her, mimicking her sorrowful look.

"Sorry Fang," She looked up at me, her eyes wide "I didn't mean to, I was playing with Celeste under the desk and then you came in and before I could come out the rest of them did and…"

"You thought it would be a good idea to stay there." I finished for her. She looked at the floor again.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, before crouching down and looking the little girl in the eyes.

"Angel, what we were talking about, it's very important that you don't repeat anything you heard. Don't even talk about it with any of us."

She nodded eagerly "I won't Fang, I promise. I'm really good at keeping secrets." For some reason those last words didn't reassure me. Nor did the look on her face. Instead I got the feeling that this wasn't the only secret she was keeping, and, knowing Angel, that made me worried.

She smiled at me and I picked her up and carried her over to the bed, sitting back down with her on my lap.

I looked round the group once more "I think we should discuss this more later. For now, everyone keep your eyes and ears open. Ella, set course for Trulia." She looked slightly surprised.

"You sure Fang?"

I nodded "Well we can't go to Ayres, what with the rumours of a trap, so why not skip the few ports we did have planned and head straight for Trulia. It'll be harder for the law to catch up and we can ditch our passenger. We have enough provisions for the trip."

Ella grinned "Aye Aye Captain. We'll all be glad to see the back of _her_."

"Yes we will" I heard Ari mutter.

Iggy clapped his hands "Time to get back to work children" he said, springing from his seat. I saw Nudge roll her eyes as she stood up also.

As I watched my friends file out, Angel squirmed on my lap "Fang, how far away is Trulia?" she asked

I looked down at her "About three weeks or so of sailing." She bit her lip, looking worried, causing my suspicions to rise "Why?" I asked

She looked up at me, wide eyed, an innocent smile on her face "Just wondering. I'm going to go find Gazzy. He promised to have a tea party with me. Bye Fang" With that she squirmed off my lap and darted off, Total at her feet.

I frowned at the empty cabin. Great, not only did I have to worry that I might have a traitor aboard, and a passenger nobody liked, but now I was worrying about what Angel was up to as well. An innocent looking Angel is never good.

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><p><strong>So, what do you guys think. Like I said I'm not sure I got Fangs POV quite right. Let me know if you spot any mistakes, I edit my own writing so usually miss something.<strong>

**Now a couple of questions for you. First, do people want a single Iggy, or Iggy plus Nudge or Ella? If you want him with someone, let me know a preference.**

**Secondly, Fang ship is going to need a name. Any suggestions, because at the moment I'm drawing a blank.**

**Anyway, hope you like the chapter and I'll get the next one up as soon as I can :)**


	4. A Pirate Ship!

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed and put me on story alert! I loved all the suggestions for the possible name of the ship, in the end I combined a couple of names as my final decision. As to the question of Iggy, for the most part people wanted to see him remain single, so for the moment, unless it becomes important to the story, Iggy is free and single.**

**We're back to Max's POV for this chapter, hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: Me No Own. Except the plot, the plots all mine :)**

**On with the Story**

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><p>MPOV<p>

I had been woken early in the morning by the sounds of shouting and movement on deck, and the feel of the ship cutting through the water.

_To late to change your mind now Max _I thought.

For a while I just listened to what was happening on deck, trying not to freak out every time someone came close to my hiding place.

I very quickly became bored. Who wouldn't? Lying in the same position all day, afraid to move in case you made a noise that alerted someone to your presence.

I was going mad. I was not the most patient of people at the best of times, and I was used to being relatively active. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. How the hell was I going to last three days?

Finally I think I must have dozed back off, because the next time I became aware of my surroundings I realised the ship had gone quiet.

I lay still and listened for a while, until I was sure there was no one around. I lifted the edge of the tarpaulin slightly, peeking out. It was dark, I had survived my first day.

I stretched, hearing my joints crack from stiffness. I was glad the boat was long enough to accommodate my 5 foot 9 length, even if there was no room to sit up.

I rolled on to my stomach and unzipped my pack.

I was starving. Due to my reluctance to move all day I hadn't been able to dig in to my pack to find what meagre food I had managed to steal from my house. My stomach felt like it was eating itself.

I had barely got it open though when I heard footsteps on deck. I froze, listening intently as they got closer.

Please be Angel, please be Angel, I repeated over and over in my head.

The footsteps stopped outside of my hiding place and the edge of the tarpaulin lifted.

"Max?" a voiced hissed and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Angel!" I rolled on to my side so I could look at her.

She grinned at me "I was afraid you might have gone." She whispered. I raised an eyebrow, where she thought I might have gone to, I didn't ask. She didn't wait for me to say anything either as she glanced around her then lifted the tarpaulin further and scrambled in to the boat, landing next to me with a slight thump.

"No Total today?" I asked, my voice sounding a little raspy. What do you expect? I've had nothing to drink all day.

Angel shook her head, she could just about sit in the boat if she kept hunched over, her hair scraping the tarpaulin. "He makes too much noise, I was afraid he might alert those on guard duty." Guards? Damn, there goes my idea of going for a walk on deck to stretch my legs.

"You weren't afraid they'd hear you?" I kept my voice quieter now I knew there was a chance of being heard.

Angel gave me an impish grin "I'm very good at sneaking around on deck."

I raised an eyebrow at her once again, but said nothing. I had a feeling this little girl probably knew more about what was happening on this ship than even the captain.

"I brought you some food and water." She offered me a flask and I took it eagerly, gulping down half the contents in one go. The water was warm and didn't taste the nicest but I didn't care.

I wiped a hand across my mouth as she produced food.

"Sorry it's not much," She whispered looking a little upset "It was all I could get."

I reached out and ruffled her hair "Its great kiddo." I said softly as I started to eat. Angel had managed to get hold of a few pieces of fruit and some biscuit like things that didn't actually taste too bad.

As I ate I looked at the little girl in front of me. She was playing with the hem of her shirt nervously, her eyes downcast.

I narrowed my eyes at her "What's up Angel?" I asked. She was obviously upset about something.

She chewed on her lip nervously, still not meeting my eyes. I put down the apple I had been about to bite in to and caught hold of one of her hands.

"Angel?" I said softly. She finally glanced at me, just to go back to staring at her hands as she mumbled

"We're not going to Ayres any more"

For a second I just stared at her "What?" I said. She blinked at me and I sighed and lay back down, rubbing a hand across my eyes.

"Where are we going then" I asked, trying very hard to keep my voice calm.

"Trulia" her voice was so quiet I barely heard her.

"Trulia?" I pinched the bridge of my nose and screwed my eyes shut "Deep breaths Max, deep breaths." I muttered.

"I'm sorry Max," she sounded as if she was about to cry "I didn't know Fang was…"

"Wait Fang?" She looked at me her eyes wide. I think my eyes were equally as wide as I recognised the name "As in Fang Reaver?" I asked "The pirate captain Fang Reaver, of the Midnight Hawk?"

She nodded and I swore loudly, just for Angel to slap her small hands over my mouth

"Shush, someone will hear." She hissed. I covered my face with my hands, trying very hard not to scream in frustration.

I was on a freakin' pirate ship! And not just any pirate ship! Freakin' Fang Reavers pirate ship! I had heard the rumours, everybody had.

I had heard my father cursing his name on more than one occasion when the pirate had raided one of his ships. I had thought it funny at the time. What? My father deserved it. But that wasn't the point. Captain Fang Reaver was known as a hard headed, cold hearted, arrogant son of a… You get the idea.

"I am going to die." I groaned in to my hands. I felt Angels small hands clasp my own, pulling them away from my face. I looked up to see her tear filled blue eyes staring down at me.

"I'm sorry Max" she whispered as tears trickled down her cheeks "I didn't know that he was going to change his plans, I really didn't. He only changed them because he thinks someone told…" She bit her lip, her eyes widening slightly "oops, wasn't meant to say that" She muttered.

I raised an eyebrow at that comment but then, because really I'm a soft hearted fool, at least when it comes to kids with bright blue eyes and curly golden hair, I pulled Angel down in to a hug.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and I felt her wet face against my shoulder.

I sighed. Let's face it, I would have stowed away whether I had met Angel or not, it's not her fault.

I stroked her back soothingly "its ok Angel" I muttered "I know it's not your fault. I should have checked what kind of ship this was before I stowed away. I'm not mad at you."

She sniffed and pulled back from me and I wiped the tears away from her eyes and smiled at her.

"We'll just have to go even more careful I don't get found, won't we?" Because if I was caught stowing away on a pirate ship I was definitely dead. I didn't voice that bit out loud though, no need to make her cry again.

She nodded, and hugged me again, just lying with her head buried against my shoulder, whilst thoughts chased themselves around my head.

I was seriously dreading the next few weeks, I had struggled with one day, had thought three days would drive me insane, how the hell was I going to manage the three weeks it would take to get to Trulia?

After a while I sighed and shifted position, I wanted to ask Angel more about the running of the ship.

"Angel?" I said her name quietly as I shook her shoulder gently. With a shock I realised she had fallen asleep.

What did you expect Max, she's only young and it's the middle of the night, I berated myself.

I sighed again as I listened to her gentle breathing, deciding it wouldn't hurt to let her sleep for a little while. I would wake her up in a couple of hours and send her back off to bed.

I found out what a big mistake that decision was when I woke up the next morning to feel the hot sun beating down on my face and see a pair of dark obsidian eyes staring down in to mine.

Oh hell.

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><p><strong>Well we all know whos eyes they are, don't we?<strong>

**As usual let me know what you think and if you notice any mistakes or anything that needs improvement. I love getting your feedback.**

**Do you want the next chapter in Fang's POV or Max's? I can't quite decide, so I'm interested to see if there's a preference.**

**Till next time :)**


	5. Interesting Discovery

**I am so sorry it has taken so long to update, I won't give you a load of excuses. I will say I have limited access to the internet at the moment so updates may not be very regular. I will also promise that it doesn't matter how long it takes the story will be finished, because I hate it when someone abandons a story I like halfway through.**

**Anyway, this is a short chapter to tide you over. Hopefully it's ok as I wrote it quite quickly. Thankyou to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter :)**

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><p><strong>FPOV<strong>

I was talking to Ella about our course when my little brother came running up to me

"Fang, Fang!" he said, tugging at my clothes.

I caught his hand, untangling his fingers from my shirt "In a minute Gaz, I'm talking."

He just started tugging at my hand instead "But Fang!..."

"I said wait Zach." I snapped. Usually I had close to unlimited patience when it came to my younger brother and sister, but I had had a lousy night and the couple of hours since I had woken hadn't gone much better.

At the sound of his rarely used real name, Gazzy pulled back. He frowned but looked defiantly at me.

"Fang I can't find Angel!" he said, his high voice cutting across mine. He got my attention.

"What?" My eyes whipped round to his face, and I noticed he looked scared and upset.

"I can't find her. She wasn't in her bed when I woke up and I haven't been able to find her."

My eyes automatically scanned the deck. He was right, no sign of Angel and, come to think of it, I hadn't seen or heard her at all since I had been up, which was definitely unusual.

I crouched down in front of Gaz, seeing he was worried.

"Don't worry Gazzy, she's probably hiding somewhere with Total."

The eight year old shook his head, his bottom lip trembling slightly "Totals still in the cabin." He whispered.

I frowned at that, Angel never went anywhere without her dog. Worst case scenarios started trooping through my mind as I glanced up at Ella who was looking at me with concern. My worry ramped up another level but I pulled my brother in to a quick hug "Don't worry Gaz, we'll find her." I muttered before jumping to my feet and ruffling his blond hair.

I exchanged a look with Ella who took Gazzys' hand "Come on, you and me will look together." She said "We'll go get Total, he'll soon sniff her out."

I gave Gazzy a reassuring smile as Ella pulled him away. I glanced round the deck once more then put two fingers in my mouth and gave a piercing whistle, my way of getting the crews attention.

The general hustle and bustle stopped as eyes turned to look at me.

"Angel is missing." I said quietly, "I want her found. Divide in to groups and search the ship." For a moment nobody moved "Now!" I snapped, the volume of my voice rising slightly.

My crew sprang in to life, all hurrying to follow my orders. I heard Iggy's voice rise above the noise as he started to divide people in to groups and tell them where to start looking.

My mind went back to the conversation I'd had with her yesterday and I once more wondered if she had been keeping more than one secret.

The last time she'd had a secret was when she had found a puppy and smuggled him on board. For a week Iggy had been complaining about how food kept disappearing and how he was sure he could hear a massive rat scampering about.

Then one morning he had been given a fright when the pup had escaped from his hiding place and found it's way in to Iggys cabin.

The result had been hilarious and the two girls still teased him about it at times. Angel had given me her big, doe eyed look and I had let her keep the dog.

Now I was wondering if she had picked up some other stray.

A shout sounded across deck "Captain, I've found her." One of the crew was standing by the boat we used sometimes to take us to shore. He was staring down in to it frowning.

Ari stood next to him. He glanced over his shoulder at me "Fang, you should see this." He said, looking faintly amused.

I was already moving towards them but my step quickened at his words.

I was expecting to see Angel maybe sitting there with a guilty look and an animal of some kind in her arms.

What I didn't expect to see was her fast asleep and snuggled up against a young woman.

I stared at the pair in astonishment as I felt people moving closer, wanting to see in to the boat.

"Well that's a different type of stray." Ari said beside me, just as the girl opened her eyes and looked directly in to mine.

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><p><strong>As before, if you see any errors let me know and i'll do my best to correct them. Let me know what you think as I love to read your reviews. I will do my best to update at the next oppotunity I get, but it may not be for a while. Hopefully it will be a longer chapter too. <strong>

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter :)**


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